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China releases first Crown Resorts staff jailed for gambling crimes

China released 10 employees of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd on Wednesday, the first of 16 who were detained in October and sentenced in June for illegally promoting gambling.

PHOTO: REUTERS

[SHANGHAI] China released 10 employees of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd on Wednesday, the first of 16 who were detained in October and sentenced in June for illegally promoting gambling.

Nineteen employees were detained as Crown was trying to attract high-spending Chinese to its casinos outside of China, where gambling is illegal except in the territory of Macau.

A court jailed 16 of the employees including three Australians for nine to 10 months, back-dated to their October detention.

The incident prompted Crown to shift focus to its home market. It had been a shareholder of Macau-focused Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd but sold its remaining stake for US$1.16 billion in May.

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On Wednesday, four employees, including Australian nationals Jerry Xuan and Jane Pan Dan, emerged from a Shanghai detention facility accompanied by family members and security officials, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. They left immediately in cars without speaking to media.